Breakthrough
by Jess.91
Summary: Six years after Breakdown ended, Twelve year old Patty wants answers. Not just about Dan, but about herself ...
1. Prologue

Prologue

Summary: Six years after Breakdown ended, Twelve year-old Patty wants answers. Not just about Dan, but about herself ...  


**Piper/Leo  
**

**Patty**, 12: Molecular Immobolization and Moleculor Combustion.

**Wyatt**, 10: Orb, Teleorb

**Chris**, 8: Orb, Telikinesis

**Cassie**, 7: Orb, Ice-over

**Prue/Andy  
**

**Matthew**, 7: TK, Astro-Project

**Carson**, 4: Ivisability, Deflection

**Phoebe/Coop**

**Laci**, 5: Levitation, Premonitions

**Paige/Henry**

**Holly**, 5: Orb, Conjour

**Patty's POV**

_I watched as mum threw her hands up in a familiar guester. But she wasn't fighting a demon here. It was him. The bad man. My father. A huge patch of blood spread acroos his chest. I wasn't upset or anything - he meant nothing to me, never really had. Leo is my daddy now. But still, mummy has this look in her eyes ..._

I woke up, bolt upright in my bed, panting and sweating. With a sigh I flopped back onto my bed. Not again.

The same recurring nightmare; my mum killing Dan. Except it's not really a nightmare, it really happened, and I really saw it. I saw the whole thing, although she still doesn't know that. I saw her get possesed, I saw her blow him up, I saw her cry when he died. Then I saw her get over it. I may only have been five at the time, but I know what a weight his death had lifted. Dan, the person that made her life hell for years, the one who shot her, who organized for me to be kidnapped. But they're different stories altogether.

Dan is my biological father. Technically. But as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't have the right to be called my dad - only Leo does. The good guy, who saved my mum from Dan, who took care of her, who fell in love with her. And me. Who took me on as his daughter. Who treats me exactly the same as his "real" kids. Who doesn't refer to my brothers and sister as his "real" kids. Who as far as I know, doesn't think of my as not his.

As far as I know.

I really think he loves me the same, though. He's always been there for me. He's seen ever school play I've been in, even when mum and my aunts couldn't make it. He convinced my mum to let me have ballet lessons, and didn't complain when I gave up after a month, and didn't let mum get mad at me. He healed every cut and that made me cry, so I wouldn't cry any more, even though it's against the rules. (Not just the elders', my mother's too).

No question, he's my dad.

But lately, I've been having "dreams" about Dan. Not nice dreams, not the kind that make me want to meet him, or wish I knew him. The kind that scare me, that make me wonder what kind of monster I'm apart off.

And the kind of so-called dreams that make me wonder ...

How the hell my mother could love me.

**So it's really short, but it is just the prologue. Let me know what you think. And I'm thinking of alternating the chapters between Patty's POV and Piper's. Should I do that, or just do third person?**


	2. Busy Busy Busy

Thanks for all the feedback on the prologue. Most of you said to switch between Piper and Patty's POV, so that's what I'll do. OK, on with the story.

Chapter 1 - Busy, Busy, Busy

Piper's POV

I side-stepped the skateboard and ducked the football whizzing through the air. Monday mornings. They were designed to be chaos, weren't they? Especially at our house. But you have to expect that, I guess, with eight magical kids living here. Yes, that's right. I think we all expected to move out, but it never happened. So the boys share a room, and the girls share a room, and everyone gets along great!

Not.

"Holly, you have to tidy your stuff away!" Patty was saying angrily as I walked past their room. "If I trip over anything else of yours I swear I will blow it up!"

"Come on girls, breakfast." I said, making my way towards the stairs. "Ah, ah, ah!" I swung Carson up into the air, and took the felt tip out of his hand. "No drawing on the wall." I told him sternly. That's his new favourite game. Send aunt Piper crazy with pretty pictures on the nice clean walls. And what does Prue do about it? She laughs.

Hopeless.

The kitchen was full of movement, as always. The toaster popping ever few minutes, the fridge and cupboards opening and closing constantly, and squabbling over who ate the last of the coco-pops. Eventually though, they were all seated round the table, eating and talking, calmly for once.

"Are you OK, honey?" I asked Patty. She's been quiet over the last few weeks, and I'm not sure why.

"Yeah, I'm great." She replied, pushed her plate away and walked out of the kitchen. I looked down at the half-empty bowl and sighed. Isn't she a little two young for the moody teenager bit?

"What is _wrong _with her?" Cassie asked me. I shook my head, and stood up. "Come on kids, you'll be late." Then I walked out too. I found Patty in her room, picking up Holly's stuff and dumping it on her bed.

"Hi." I said carefully.

"Hey." She replied without looking up.

"What you doing?"

"Seeing if there's actually a floor in this part of the room." She replied flatly. "I don't think I've ever seen this area without junk all over it.

"There's definitely a floor there." I told her. "I remember it."

"Mm-hmm." She carried on picking things up and throwing it on Holly's bed, more and more energetically.

"Is everything OK, Tee?" I asked. Tee is what Chris used to call her, when he couldn't pronounce her name, and it caught on.

"Everything is _fine_." She said stonily.

"Talk to me." I murmured. "Please."

"There's nothing to talk about." She said, finally looking at me. "Really."

"Is it ... about him?" I asked her. She's only ever tried to talk about Dan once, when she was seven. Then she said it didn't matter and ran off. And even though I know I should talk to he about him, it just never happened. I never meant it to be like this, but ...

"No." She said. "There's nothing wrong with me. Really. Don't worry so much."

"Can't help it. It's an automatic thing." I replied. "I ... I'm here if you need me, you know that, right?"

She nodded, then turned back to the mess on the floor.

"Go get ready for school, I'll clean it later." I told her. She let the stuff in her arms fall back down to the floor and walked past me.

What happened to us?

--------------

"You really think it's about Dan?" Phoebe asked, a few hours later at P3. I looked up from the paperwork I was trying to do and nodded.

"What else could it be?"

"Piper ... it could be anything. School stuff, girl stuff, boy trouble, anything. She was only a baby when you were with Dan, it might not have affected her as bad as you think."

"She was five when he died." I stated.

"Right, but other stuff has happened since then. The Cole thing was right after that, and she was pretty badly affected then." Paige added.

Ah, the Cole thing. He went evil, as did Phoebe, then we vanquished him. She got over it, and met Coop the Cupida year or so later.

"Yeah, losing Phoebe was pretty bad for her." I admitted.

"And losing him." Phoebe said. "I mean, he tried to kill her. Her uncle."

"Yeah, but Dan did a lot. And he was her father."

"Don't let her hear you say that." Paige warned.

"Why?"

"Oh. Um ... a few weeks back, when I took her shopping, we ran into Mrs. Benton, remember, she used to live next door when Patty was little? And she mentioned Dan ... Uh, she said "your father". Patty just lost it, started yelling that he isn't her father, Leo is, and Dan doesn't deserve to be called her father and stuff."

"Really? Maybe that's why she's all upset?"

"Because she's realised Leo isn't her real father?" Prue asked confused.

"No, because people are always going to think of him as her father. I need to talk to her."

Great. This should be fun.


	3. Answers, One Way Or The Other

Chapter 3 - Answers, One Way or Another

Patty's POV

She does a good job of acting like she loves me. But I don't know if she really does.

"We need to talk, sweetie." She said. I sat on the edge of me bed, and she sat next to me. She tided the room. It must have taken a while, but she did it. And yes, there is a floor there.

"What about?" I asked.

"Dan. Paige told me how angry you got at Mrs. Benton."

"So?"

"So why did it upset you so much?" She asked me.

"Because he's not my father! Leo is! And she stood there saying he was my dad ... He's not! He's not, he's not, he's -"

"Shh." She whispered, wrapping her arms around me. "It's OK, I know, I know."

I started crying. I couldn't help it.

"Is there anything you want to know about him?" She asked me. I shook me head.

"Nothing you want to ask?"

Other than "how can you love me?" Nope. Nothing.

"If you ever want to talk about anything -"

"I know." I snapped. "For gods sake, I'm not a baby! And I'm not screwed up in the head either!" I pushed her away and stormed out. I'd have liked to have thrown her out of my room, but that probably wouldn't have gone down too well.

I ended up in the attic. She didn't follow me, so I walked towards the book. The pages started flipping on their own, and I smiled. Some kind of magic would cheer me up.

But the page it landed on was blank.

"What? OK, Grams, I'm not understanding this." I said aloud. That's to my great-grandmother, by the way. Yeah, she's dead, but she likes to help us out a lot. And visit. Weird, I know.

The pages started flipping again, stopping briefly on the time travel spell, then flipping back to the blank page. "You trying to say I should time-travel?" I asked confused. "But ..."

Then it hit me. If I could travel back through what happened with my mum and Dan, then I could see how she feels, right?

"Thanks Grams!" I said brightly. Now time to make up a spell ...

Great.

"OK, I think I got it." I murmured aloud. And it only took me an hour. And the spell sucks, but I think it'll get me through it OK.

"Take me through the timeline, To find what I seek, Take me through the memories, where they can't see me or hear me speak." That part was more important than you might think. I didn't want to spend the time in the past ducking behind plants and stuff.

I started spinning - or maybe it was the room that was spinning - so fast that the room blurred, and then ...

I landed hard on a shiny floor.

"Ow." I muttered, pulling myself to my feet. And then I looked around me. And then I was confused. I'm in a hospital. What's this all about?

"Hey, is that ..." Mum is sat on one of the hospital beds, holding a baby. Me. It must be. Wow, Freaky.

"Hey there you." She murmured, and I heard myself make a fussy gurgle in reply.

Then he walked in. He smelt faintly of booze, but mum didn't seem to notice. She looked so happy. "It's a girl." She told him brightly. Why wasn't he there by her side the whole time?

Dan just shrugged and sat down.

"I was thinking of calling her Patricia? After mum?"

"No." He said coldly.

"Why?" Mum murmured, clutching me a little tighter. Don't know why, he didn't look like he wanted to look at me, never mind hold me.

"I don't like it." He said. "Call her something else."

"I want to call her after my mother, Dan. I don't want anything else. I didn't know you hated the name?"

"I don't. But you're not calling her it."

"But ..." She looked so confused, but I understood. He didn't want her to be happy.

"Fine! Call her it! Call her whatever you want!" He suddenly yelled loudly, then stood up, and stormed out. A few people looked up and stared at mum - thankfully a nurse came and closed the curtain. But I still saw her cry.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to me. "I'm so sorry. I wont ever let him hurt you. I promise. I love you."

For almost a whole minute, I thought I had my answer. And then I remembered, this was just the tip of the ice-burg. So much more happened after this ...

People change. So do feelings.

Before I had anymore time to think, I was spinning again …


	4. Vanished?

Thanks again to reviewers. By the way, allie351, there will be more on the other kids.

**Chapter 4 - Vanished**

_Piper's POV._

I didn't follow her. I knew she wanted to be alone. I knew she wouldn't talk to me. She's acting like she hates me. She doesn't even look at me ...

With a sigh, I made my way back downstairs. Amazingly, all was quiet. The kids were watching some film, with Prue, Phoebe, Leo, Andy, Henry and Coop. Walking into the kitchen, I found Paige.

"Well? How did it go?"

"Badly." I replied, opening the fridge. Not really sure why.

"How badly?"

"Yelling and storming out badly." I closed the fridge. It's empty. We need to shop. I sat at the table and started making a shopping list. OK, so it probably wont be me that shops, (one in eight chance) and whoever does it wont look twice at my list. But I have to do something.

"Was it over Dan?"

"I have no idea. She's not screwed in the head though." I said with fake happiness.

"Huh?"

"So she says."

"Oh. Do you want me to go talk to her?" See, Paige is the fun aunt. She's the kind of aunt who'd let you skatebored in the house after mummy said no. The kind of aunt who'd let you have ice-cream when daddy said no. The kind who slips you extra money to buy the game you're not allowed.

And yes, they are all real situations. She's worse than Phoebe. (Although Phoebe does find it hard to say no.)

"If you wouldn't mind. I think she went into the attic." I told her.

"OK. Try not to worry about it."

"No promises."

She just laughed as she walked out of the room.

"OK, we need ... butter ... eggs ... cheese ... milk ... water ..." I got up and started checking the cupboards. "Bread ... biscuits ... honey ... peanut but -"

"Piiiippppeeeerrrr!" I snapped my head up. What the hell ...?

"Paige?" I dropped my pen on the table, and ran out of the room. Phoebe and Prue were already in the hallway, and we ran up the stairs together. Paige was in the hallway, looking in all of the bedrooms.

"What, what is it?"

"Patty. Where is she?" Paige said, spinning round to face us. "She's not in the attic, she's not down here -"

"Or downstairs." Phoebe cut in, helpfully. Actually, it wasn't that helpful.

"So where is she?" I asked, then walked past them towards the attic.

"Tee? Patty? Patrica Jade Halliwell! Get out here now!" I yelled, once inside the attic. Nothing. I middle-named her, and still, nothing.

"She's not here." Prue said.

"Well really?" I snapped. "I hadn't noticed." Prue didn't say a word, just walked towards the book.

"She can't have just vanished." Phoebe stated. Looks that way to me.

"Did one of you leave it open on the time-travel page?" Prue asked. Phoebe and Paige shook their heads.

"You think she's time-travelled?" I asked. Why would she do that?

"Not exactly." Phoebe said nervously. Turning, I saw her holding out a notebook. Gathering round, we read the spell in my daughters handwriting._ Take me through the timeline, To find what I seek, Take me through the memories, where they can't see me or hear me speak._

"What the ... Why?" I muttered.

"I don't know." Phoebe said gently. "But I don't think we'll find out until she's home. And then, she'll have her answers."

"What if she doesn't get them? I mean, time-travel is so risky. And she's all alone ... What the hell could she be looking for!"

"Piper, she's twelve. She has a lot of questions." Prue said.

"But ... do you think this is why she's been all moody lately?" I asked suddenly. Of course, I don't actually know what "this" is.

"Could be. And maybe when she comes home ... she'll be the happy little girl we know." Prue smiled.

"She's not a little girl anymore though." I whispered, then walked back downstairs. Leo met me at the bottom, and I fell into his arms.

"What? What's wrong?"

"She's gone. She's time travelled." I told him.

"What? Where to?"

I shrugged, pulled back. "She wrote her own spell. To find answers. I don't even know the question."

"Hey, come on. She'll be OK. She's a smart girl. Just like her mum."

Smart or not, who knows where she could be right now.


	5. Most Important Thing

Chapter 5 - The Most Important Thing

**(Patty's POV)**

"Dan please." Mum was saying, a note of desperation in her voice. "Dan -"

He was currently advancing slowly on my mum, his eyes strangely dark, his whole face full of anger.

"Dan - not in front of -" I was only a baby, about a year old, and screaming at the top of my lungs. I can't describe how weird it is to look at your self like this. "Not in front of her -"

Like he cares. He hit mum, hard across the face. You know why? She'd asked him - very nicely - to pick his empty bottles up. And he'd lost it. And she ... she just stood there and let him.

I don't get it. She isn't the strong person I know. She's so ... scared of him. I've seen her fight countless demons, without even flinching. But here she is, cowering in the corner.

I never knew it was this bad, either. I mean, I knew about her being shot - I can vaguely remember it - and I knew he used to knock her around a bit, but I never imagined ...

He hit her again, her head flew back and hit the wall. She let out a gasp of pain, then slid down the wall, either knocked out or just too tired to fight. Dan turned away with a sneer, staggered back to the sofa. The baby me was still screaming and then ...

He threw a bottle at me! It smashed against the wall, about a foot about my head, and baby me screamed louder at the same time as I yelled "No!" Over in the corner, mum shakily raised her head.

"Shut her up will you." Dan snapped at her. Mum ran flat out to me (didn't take long, this place is tiny) and scooped me up. That's when she saw the bottle.

"What did you do!" She screamed. Dan looked over at her slowly.

"Nothing," he said, "that she didn't need."

"What? What have you done to her!" He didn't answer, thankfully didn't get back up and hit her. He just looked over at the small T.V blaring in the corner. Mum hugged me close to her. "You can't hurt her, she's just a baby!" She cried. He was asleep now, though. A drunken stupor.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. At first, I thought she was talking to him, but then I realised she's talking to me. (Baby me.) "I'm trying so hard to protect you, but I don't know if it's good enough." She was crying, now. She hadn't shed a single tear while he'd laid into her, but now she was crying.

"You are the most important thing to me." She whispered. "And I would give my life to protect you."

And then, I was crying too.

----

"I did. Why are you even home?" Mum asked, then all the colour drained from her face. He'd just accused her of not telling him where she was going. a) she did b) why should she have to tell him anyway?

"You didn't tell me." He said slowly, stepping towards her. "And it's none of your business why I'm home."

"I'm sorry." She said quickly. She sounded so desperate, so scared. But he ... it was almost like he was enjoying it. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back.

"How dare you talk to me like that."

"I'm -"

"Liar!" He yelled, then threw her across the room. She hit her head on the wall (again!), but stayed conscious.

"Dan, please -" She pleaded, looking back over at me. I wasn't crying this time. This is around a year later, and I suppose baby-me is used to it. That's a tragedy all in itself.

I watched, horrified, as he kicked her roughly in the stomach, and she gasped in pain.

Baby me starts screaming now, and with on last kick, Dan stepped aside.

I've already noticed the pattern here, that they slipped into a while ago. He beats her up, she grabs me and runs. He gets drunk, passes out in their bedroom, she comes home, puts me to bed and sleeps on the sofa. Getting up early so he doesn't notice.

Usually I stay in the flat, and time kind of goes faster, then skips to the next memory. This time, however, everything dissolves and I see, super speedy, mum walk into (literally) Dad, and he take her back to his place.

She told him everything what had happened, and he comforted her. I think he was already in love with her then, which is quite sweet.

"You don't have to go back there." He told softly. "You have the strength Piper." I was hoping (even though I knew it wouldn't happen) that she'd agree, and leave him. But she didn't. She left.

Then we were back in the flat. I knew this was the same day, and I knew what would happen now. I'm still not sure why I'm seeing all of this, but I have to admit it's helping me feel closer to mum ...

We both thought Dan was asleep, and then ...

"Who was he?"

I was expecting to see the rest of the memory, but instead everything started dissolving.

And then I was back in the exact same place and Dan was stood in front of mum with a knife.

"Dan – please -" Mum said to him.

He pressed the blade against her arm, then ordered her into "my" room. She just started at him, looking almost like she might argue, I even hoped she'd hit him (it's like watching a film, and you know the ending but you still shout out a warning to the characters.)

He pressed the knife down, and it cut into her. She started bleeding, looked at baby-me and nodded. Even though I didn't see it, I knew she'd grabbed the phone.

Why am I seeing all this? This isn't showing me weather or not she loves me, just how evil Dan was. If anything it's making me feel worse ...

"Today is the day you die." He said suddenly. "First you, then her." He nodded towards me, sat in the crib.

What? I didn't know that. I knew he'd threatened mum with a knife ... but I never knew he'd said that.

"No. Not my baby." Mum whispered, and then ... She pushed him out of the room! I didn't know she'd done that either. And that's when I realised. Through all of this, mum was trying to protect me. All the stuff I've seen, her main concern was me.

Oh, we're dissolving again.

I saw mum getting shot, and dad telling her he loved her. And some stuff after she got out of the hospital. Then their wedding. I could only vaguely remember it, so it was nice to see it all over again. And I'm starting to maybe think -

Oh, we're disollving again.

I half-expected to go home, but no. Another memory awaits ...

* * *

By the way, I have another story up, Never Alone, a Piper/Leo teenfic, if anyone wants to check it out ... 


	6. Attack

**Chapter 6 - Attack**

**Piper's POV**

She's been gone for four hours now. I'm just sat here, reading her spell over and over. What is it that she couldn't just ask me? That she had to go this far to do?

"Mum? Is she home yet?" Chris had spoken, but looking up I saw Wyatt and Cassie stood in the doorway with him.

"No, peanut, she's not." I murmured. He didn't even tell me off for calling him peanut. He just looked down.

"Where did she go?" Cassie asked, looking confused. I didn't know what to say to that.

"She'll be home soon." I said, instead. I know it didn't answer her question, but Cassie seemed to sense I didn't have an answer.

"I hope she gets back soon." Wyatt said, and I wondered if he remembered Patty being kidnapped. I mean, he was only, what, two? That's all I can think asbout. How she was kidnapped. How do I know that isn't what's happened, and some demon or something has tried to make it look like she's cast some spell?

Nah, they'er not that smart.

But then ...

"Go on, bedtime." Leo's voice said. He was stood behind them now. The poor guy, he's gonna comfort the kids, then come in here and I'll end up crying all over him.

As I predicted, he followed the kids down the hall. I just read the spell again and again until he came back.

"How you holding up?" He asked. I shrugged.

"It's not like the last time. I mean, at least we know where she is." I replied. "But I ... I just want her to come home, so we can talk about this."

"She'll be home soon." He said. I'm sure she'll find her answers soon, really."

I just nodded. Maybe she'll come back tonight -

"Don't." He said gently. I looked at him, confused. "Don't go sit up there waiting for her. She'll come home when she's ready. There's no point torchuring yourself." I had to smile - I still can'#t get over how he can read my mind like that. I nodded, laid down, and got ready for a sleepless night.

----

"Mum!" I heard a yell, but not from one of mine. I think it was Matthew. "Mum!" He yelled again, and I heard a crash.

"Matt?" I called, then a girls scream sounded. "Laci?" I ran down the stairs and into the sunroom, where half the wall had been blasted away by something.

A demon something.

"Oh my god." I threw out my hands and the demon froze, thankfully. Phoebe was laid on the floor in the corner, raising her head slowly. Laci was crouched behind the coffee table and Matthew was laid crashed through the wall. "Oh - Oh -" I ran over to him, and lifted him up carefully. He was bleeding heavily on the back of his head. "Leo! Leo!" He orbed down quickly, and started to heal Matthew, while I hugged Cassie.

"Go - run -" I yelled suddenly, pushing her towards the door. I'd somehow forgotten about the demon, and now he'd unfroze. Cassie and Matthew ran off obediantly, and I threw my hands out again, this time only freezing the demon's body.

"Why go after them?" I snapped. He just looked at me blankly.

"I - I don't know -"

"Who sent you?" I asked instead. He looked nervous, and shook his head.

"He - he'll kill me -"

"So will I." I raised my hand again.

"Wait - uh - I can't tell you who - but - but they're trying to kill them - the kids -" He said nervously.

"Who?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know his name, but only they can vanquish him. You can't."

"What? Why -" And then he burst into flames. "Dammit! Why does that always happen!"

"Because demon's don't want to be found out." Phoebe sighed. "But ... Piper? If - if the kids have to vanquish this demon, we really need Patty to be home -"

"I know." I murmured. I guess I just have to hope she finds those answers soon ...


	7. Question Answered

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Btw, Kayleigh I have another Piper and Leo story going on right no, it's called Never Alone.

Chapter 7 - Question Answered

**Patty's POV**

"Blood to blood, return to me." Mum was crying, sliding the knife further and further down her arm and letting the blood drop into the bowl in front of her. Dad gripped her wrists and she let the atheme drop onto the table.

"It's OK." He said, sitting next to her, still holding her wrists. "It's OK."

"Where is she Leo?" She asked weakly. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." He breathed. "But we'll get her back, I promise you. Piper I will move heaven and earth to get her back." He hugged her, and I felt the lump in my throat get bigger. This is when I was kidnapped, by Dan's brother. I never knew how upset mum was. But she just keeps crying and crying ...

----

"Are you blaming yourself?" Mum asked aunt Phoebe and Paige.

"Well ... of course we are." Aunt Paige said after a while. "We're her aunts, we're supposed to protect her."

"I sort of feel like I - I let her down." Aunt Phoebe added. "Like I didn't do enough to stop it, to save her."

I didn't know this either. I actually feel kinda sorry for them all. Especially mum ...

"I - I had no idea. I guess I didn't realise you felt the same." Mum was saying.

"The same? As you?" Aunt Phoebe asked, and mum nodded, looking like she was about to cry again.

"You might be her aunts, but I'm her mother. When we were with Dan, it was me and her, together. And them I ... moved on with it, had Wyatt and Chris and -" Mum put a hand lightly on her teeny baby bump (she's pregnant with Cassie). "And I ... did I push her out?" Mum asked quietly.

"What? No, of course not!" Both aunts cried, and I was furiously shaking my head. She didn't, she never, ever made me feel like I wasn't improtant, or didn't fit in or ...

Or that I wasn't loved.

"I was so worried about who my dad was ... I never stopped to about who mum is." I whispered to myself.

And then I was spinning, faster and faster, and I started to feel car-sick - and then I landed on the floor outside the kitchen.

"Am I home?" I murmured to myself. I heard voices, and my name mentioned. I got up and walked towards the kitchen, stopping just outside the door as I recognised mum's voice.

"It's not right Leo, she's god only knows where in some other time! All alone! Because she couldn't just come and talk to me ... Am I that bad a mother?"

"No!" Dad said quickly. "Of course you're not. Sometimes ... people just want to do things on their own, espectially at her age."

"We were so close, Leo. She was all I had for years, and I ... I thought that that would never change. She is one of the most important things in the world to me." Mum sounded close to tears now. "I love her so much, but she can't just ... talk to me?"

"I'm sorry mum." I whispered, stepping into the kitchen.

Both of their eyes widened, then they were on their feet and hugging me tightly.

"You're home." Mum muttered. Then she let go of me - finally, I can breath again - and stepped back. "Where the hell have you been!" She only sounded a little mad, and I knew - now - that I could tell her anything.

"I'm sorry. It really was the only way, though." I said, hoping she wouldn't ask me the question, but knowing she would.

"To find out what? Where have you been?" She repeated.

"I ... travelled through a few things." I replied. "Your past. My past."

"Why?" This was going to be the hard part. I knew now that she did love me - regardless of the fact that Dan was a physco. I knew she'd be hurt ...

"I had a few issues." I replied, hoping I could leave it at that. No, her face is telling me I can't.

"About Dan." I muttered. "I just thought ... well ... I wondered how you could even look at me after what he did, never mind love me." I said in a rush. Her eyes widened, her face softened, and did look hurt - but more worried.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, stroking my hair.

"For what?" OK, aren't I the one who's supposed to be apologising?

"For not talking to you about him properaly."

"It's OK. This is the only way I could have got my answer, really. I know ... how you feel."

She smiled at me. "Yeah? What did you see that told you how much I love you?"

"Just ... you were always trying to protect me and stuff." I muttered. "And ... your main concern was always me, before you." I felt myself going red now. "Thanks." I added. She hugged me again.

"Tee!" An exited voice yelled, then I felt three canonballs hit me. Well not really cannon balls - my brothers and sister, actually. But they sure feel like cannon balls when they smack into your abdomen at about 100 miles per hour.

I hugged them though, I didn't even complain when I heard a clicking noise - aunt Prue had walked in with her camera.

"Patty's home!" She called out - and then my cousin were hugging me too.

"Maybe I should go away more often." I said.

"No!" Wyatt cried.

Don't ever go away again. Ever." Chris said loudly.

"You were gone for months and months!" Cassie announced. Shocked, I looked up at mum.

"Two days." She half-laughed. Relived, I laughed too. It doesn't matter who Dan was, or what he did. He's not my dad, he's not my family.

Leo is. And these people are.


	8. Get Ready To Fight

Thanks for all the feedback on the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it. It wasn't the final chapter (I know you'll all have figured that out now, but anyway ...) and niether is this, but the next one is (boo hoo) I had someone say something about making this into a series, but I have absolutly no ideas for any sequels, and I'm not too sure it would work. However, you can all have a little think if you want lol and let me know of any ideas?

Chapter 8 - Get Ready to Fight ...

**Piper's POV**

It's good to have her home again. And, obviously, the kids agree. Chris hasn't left her side since she got back, Wyatt wont let anyone else sit next to her, and Cassie wont budge off her knee. But I know she likes it. And even though she keeps moaning at Prue for taking god knows how many photos, I know she likes that too.

"When are we going to tell them about this demon?" Phoebe whispered, bringing me out of my little thoughts.

"We need to teach them a spell." Paige said.

"We need to write them a spell first." I replied.

"When do you think it's going to attack?" Prue asked, looking over at them. I knew what she was thinking - the same thing as the rest of us, that they were too young for this. Carson, the youngest, is only four. Patty's the oldest and she's only twelve. This isn't right.

"Probably soon - as soon as he knows Patty's home." Phoebe said quietly.

"Do you think you could get a premonition?" Prue asked her.

"I could try ... but from what?"

"Not what - who. Try Laci." I said. Phoebe nodded and walked over to her daughter.

"Hey honey." I heard her say. "Can you just help me a minute? OK, just hold my hand ... good girl ..." Phoebe closed her eyes, then she gave the involuntary jump that signalled a premonition.

"Pheebs?" I said, after several long seconds. "Phoebe?" Looking scared, Laci pulled her hand away, and Phoebe finally opened her eyes.

"Phoebe? Are you OK?" Paige asked, as Phoebe gave Laci a little hug, then walked over to us.

"I - I saw them in the sunroom." She said shakily. "They were just - just playing. And then, she flamed in and -"

"She?" Prue interrupted. "It's a she-demon?"

"Yes. There was some kind of tribal mark on her face. And she just started shooting fire, and she got them all." She was almost crying now. "Uh ... I saw the clock, it said six forty-five. And the calendar - it's today."

"So we'll give them a little more time while we get ready. Then we'll explain and teach them the spell." Prue said.

"And make some potions ... just in case." I added.

"Right ... Phoebe and Prue, you guys can do the spell, and Piper and me'll make the potions." Paige said, leading us into the kitchen.

"OK." Phoebe and Prue seated themselves at the table, grabbed a notebook and pen and started talking quietly. Paige and I pulled down half the cupboards contents and started throwing it in the pot.

"Put in a bit more of that, we don't know how strong this needs to be."

"OK, you think we should put dried eel tail in?" Paige asked me.

"Only a bit. We don't want to destroy the house." I replied, and she pulled out a small piece and added it, causing a loud explosion and emitting a lot of purple smoke that smelt like eggs.

"Mum? What's going on?" Patty must have heard the explosion, and come to find out what was wrong. We looked at each other nervously.

"We're all done." Phoebe said, as Prue crossed something out and scribbled another word instead.

"So are we." Paige agreed, grabbing several vials.

"Go back into the living room, honey." I said to Patty. "We'll be in in a sec, and we'll explain." She nodded, looked at me worriedly and walked back into the room.

I helped Paige funnel the potion into the vials, and cork them, then we walked into the living room.

"Kids? All of you, can you come listen for a little while, please?" Prue said carefully, as we sat on the sofa. Carson walked over to her and sat on her knee - he's only four for gods sake. I doubt he'll even understand.

"Remember yesterday, when that bad man came here?" Phoebe said, and the younger ones nodded, the older one's looked worried. "Well, we found out from him, that another demon is going to come and ... and try to hurt you."

"Why?" Holly asked. Paige shook her head.

"We don't know, sweetie. But you guys have to - have to vanquish him. You know like we do, with a spell?" They all nodded again. "Well, you guys have to do that - it wont work if we do it. But we'll be right here with you, and we wont let the demon hurt you."

"You need to learn this spell, OK?" I said.

"OK." Chris said. "We can do this." I smiled as I thought of the Chris from the future, and his attitude towards demons.

"Yes, you can." I nodded. Then I looked over at Phoebe.

"Can you repeat this after me?" She asked, trying to keep her voice happy. "Yeah? OK ... We call upon our magic line ..."

"WE CALL UPON OUR MAGIC LINE." They all said loudly.

"To vanquish this demon through space and time ..."

"TO VANQUISH THIS DEMON THROUGH SPACE AND TIME."

"In this night and in this hour ..."

"IN THIS NIGHT AND IN THIS HOUR."

"We vanquish you with our Charmed power."

"WE VANQUISH YOU WITH OUR CHARMED POWER."

"I hope so." I murmured.


	9. Stand Strong, Together

Well, this is the last chapter of Breakthrough, and probably the last Break-story (sob) ...

Chapter 9 - Stand Strong, Together

(Patty's POV)

Mum caught my eye as we recited the spell again, and she gave me a strained smile. I knew then that this was bad. That's when I was really scared. I've vanquished demon's before, but ... this had to be a big one. Or aunt Phoebe had had a bad premonition. Or both.

"... We vanquish you with our Charmed power."

"And again." Aunt Paige said nervously.

"We call upon our magic line, to vanquish this demon through space and time, in this night and in this hour, we vanquish you with our Charmed Power." I shivered, and wondered if that was a bad sign or not. Are we going to survive this?

Is it normal for a twelve year old to be wondering if she'll be alive tomorrow?

"When is this going to happen?" I asked Dad, who was stood behind me.

"Quarter to seven, tonight." He told me quietly. That's one of the things I like about him - he doesn't try to hide stuff like this from me. He knows I can handle stuff, and that there's things I need to know, even if I'd rather not. "Are you OK?" He asked. I nodded.

"Are we going to be OK?" I asked. He looked at me seriously for a long time, and just as I was about to repeat my question, he answered it.

"We don't honestly know." He admitted. "But I have faith that you will. You guys might be young, but you're strong, and you are smart." My cousins and brothers and sister were still chanting the spell to each other, under uncle Coop's supervision, and my mum and aunts were talking. Dad hugged me. "I love you."

"I love you too, Dad." I whispered.

"We wont let anything happen to any of you." He said, and I remembered his words, from when I'd been kidnapped. "I will move heaven and earth to get her back ..."

"I know you wont." I said, pulling back. We'd be OK. We have the best parents, and aunt and uncle's anyone could ask for. And I know that they'd protect us, at any cost.

"OK, you all know it?" Mum asked. "Say it one more time without any help."

We all repeated it, then aunt Phoebe nodded. "OK, you know it. Well done, well done." She picked up Laci and uncle Coop wrapped his arm around her. Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry were hugging Holly tightly. Aunt Prue, uncle Andy, Matthew and Carson we tangled in a hug too - which of course meant that mum and dad pulled the four of us into a giant hug.

"Are you all OK? Do you all understand?" Mum asked anxiously.

"We'll be OK, mum." I said.

"I - I know."

"But you're going to worry anyway." Wyatt said.

"Yup."

We will do this. I know we will.

----

Six forty. Just five more minutes. We're going over the spell again and again - I don't think I'll ever forget it now. Unless, of course, I die today.

Oops. I promised I wouldn't think like that.

Mum hugged me, then Wyatt, then Chris then Cassie, as I was hugged by Dad, aunt Paige, aunt Phoebe and aunt Prue, Uncle Andy, uncle Coop and uncle Henry. A lot of hugging - and it didn't reassure me in the least. It was almost like we were saying goodbye ...

"OK, everyone ready?" Aunt Phoebe asked, her voice shaking. My aunts and uncles gathered in the parlour, my aunts at the front, dozens of potions clutched in their hands. They'd tried to get dad and my uncles to hide away for their own safety, but they'd all refused.

"Three ..." Aunt Phoebe said shakily. "Two ..." She looked over at the clock, and instead of saying "one" just closed her eyes for half-a-second.

I heard someone scream as the demon shimmered in, right on time. Or should I say, demons.

There must have been twenty he-demons, all wearing some kind of raggy leather, and a she-demon right in the middle of them all. She looked around, looking slightly confused, taking in the sight of us all stood clutching each others hands, and mum and my aunts ready with the potions

"How cute." She drawled, a sneer playing around her mouth. "Attack." She didn't shout the word, didn't even say it loudly, or with any emotion in her voice. Her tone was flat, her voice not a decibel louder than her first remark. But the demons all sprang forward, launching fireballs at us. As we set to work, fighting back, fireballs were being telekinetically moved to hit the demons by aunt Prue, Chris and Matthew, aunt Paige and Wyatt were tele-orbing the fireballs to do the same.

Cassie turned several to ice, Carson was deflecting some, from his hiding place behind Matthew. Laci was fighting the same was as aunt Phoebe - using the marital arts skills her mother had been teaching her for years. Holly was orbing all over the place, occasionally pushing a demon into the path of an oncoming fireball, and mum and I were freezing a blowing up fireballs and demons. Slowly, the room was less and less crowded, and demons were bursting to flames all over the place. And suddenly, there was only the female left.

She looked a little surprised to see us all standing, albeit a little shakily with blackened faces and cuts and bruises.

"Well well." She murmured, and next second she'd shot something static at us.

"No!" Aunt Prue jumped in front of us, and the electricity bolt or whatever it was hit her instead. Mum tried to blow the demon up - it didn't work, we all knew it wouldn't, but it succeeded in making her stumbled back unsteadily, causing a slight diversion.

"Mum!" Carson yelled - his face was streaked with tears.

"Say the spell!" Aunt Paige yelled, before orbing to her eldest sisters side. She started to heal her, as the lot of us clasped hands again, as the demon regained her balance.

"We call upon our magic line, to vanquish the demon through space and time, in this night and in this hour, we vanquish you with our charmed power!" She seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move, but no flames sprouted at her ankles, and I knew we'd have to say it again.

"We call upon our magic line," I said again, and the others quickly joined in. "To vanquish this demon through space and time, in this night and in this hour, we vanquish you with our Charmed power." I felt so emotionally and mentally drained, standing on my feet was hard, but I carried on, knowing that these few words were what stood between life and death, for us.

"WE CALL UPON OUR MAGIC LINE, TO VANQUISH THIS DEMON THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, IN THIS NIGHT AND IN THIS HOUR WE VANQUISH YOU WITH OUR CHARMED POWER!"

There wasn't the fire I was expecting - instead she exploded in a thousand piece, which all burst into flame in mid-air, and turned into dust, which settled on the floor in a neat pile.

We'd done it.

"We did it!" Matthew yelled. "We vanquished her!"

And everyone was tangled in one big hug - yes, more hugging - one huge hug in the middle of the conservatory, all of us laughing hysterically, crying hysterically, so relieved, so proud, so ...

Unbelievably, blissfully happy.

----

It was a whole day later before I got a chance to talk properly to mum and dad - we celebrated almost all of the night, then all fell asleep in the living room, to wake up at one o' clock the next afternoon, still with that blissed-out feeling. We'd lazed around all day, updated the book of shadows, writing down our spell and what we'd done (like we were going to forget it!). Then we had a celebratory dinner, ate until we were all about to explode - and now I was sat with mum and dad in their room, finally ready to talk.

"What do you want to ask us?" Mum asked softly, and I bit my lip. I had so many questions, and yet right now, I couldn't think any of them into a proper sentence.

"Did you ever love him?" IO asked finally. From what I'd seen, she hated him so much - and vice-versa - but I hadn't seen the beginning, when they first met.

"I ... I thought I did." Mum answered after a while.

"And now, you hate him?"

"I don't feel anything about him." She said. "He's gone, out of lives forever - finally. I don't give him any of my thought or time or emotion."

"Do I - do I look like him?" I asked after a little while.

"No." It was dad who answered this time. "You don't resemble him in the slightest, you look like just like your mother." I smiled at that.

"So does Chris." I said.

"Yep. And Wyatt and Cassie look like your father." Mum said.

"So are - are you happy now?" I asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "Are you?" I smiled at her.

"Blissfully."

* * *

**And that was the end. Wow, I'm so sad! Well, I hope you guys loved this as much as I loved writing it, and that you'll continue to read my stories. Thanks to everyone who read, and more thanks to those who reviewed, and those who'll review this chapter!  
**  



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